This isn’t new, but it came up again recently. Authorities andindustrial dairy, including Federated Farmers and Fonterra have known about this from at least 2010. It’s worth revisiting in a week when the next government of NZ is going to be decided by a man who uses rural rhetoric to gain votes.

Stuff are reporting Mike Joy, again, on water contamination, and comment was made about nitrate levels and risk to babies,

Dr Joy said the rise of farming on lands that were unsuitable for intense dairying was also a cause of poor quality water.

Citing the Canterbury Plains Dr Joy said: “These are sort of gravelly outwash lands from the mountains, there is very, very porous soils. You put cows on there and what comes out goes straight down into groundwater, into our rivers, into our aquifers.”

He also discussed a recent warning in Ashburton where mothers were told to use bottled water to feed their babies, after it was found that tap water was causing the babies’ lips to go blue.

Mr Joy said this was the “first of many signs that we’ve gone way way too far”.

Methaemoglobinaemia can affect babies less than six months of age or in the womb.

Exposure to high nitrate levels in drinking water may prevent the blood from delivering oxygen effectively in the body.

As a result an infant may develop blueness around the mouth, hands and feet. If severe, the condition can affect breathing and may be life-threatening.

…

Nitrate is diffcult to remove from water. Household cartridge/carbon filters, chemical treatment and boiling will not remove nitrate. Reverse osmosis and ion exchange can remove nitrate however these are expensive options.

…

If your water is high in nitrate, contamination is occurring. This means bacteria could also be in the water. Bacteria can increase the likelihood of methaemoglobinaemia and cause other diseases, so don’t forget to test for the bacteria E.coli at the same time.

One of the things about contaminants in groundwater is they don’t go there immediately. It takes times for them to filter down through the earth into the aquifer. Likewise, when you finally decide its time to clean it up, it takes time for the remaining pollutants in the ground to keep working it’s way down and then for the water to clear. This is part of why National talk about cleaning up water for the next generation, although most likely it’s also because they just want to keep pillaging NZ while they can. If we spread our pollution out far enough, we can defer the crisis and keep pretending everything is alright.

As far as I can tell industrial dairying, Fed Farmers, and Ecan are all saying that pollution is ok so long as we limit it to around the level that we can get away with. Probably not good to poison babies, but if we fence off some water ways then the number of times people have to buy bottled water in a year will be below what makes people complain too much and we can put in an alert system so that babies don’t actually get die.

That’s time and low population density on the polluters’ side.

So it’s not a big public health crisis, just a few babies that if their mothers just did the right thing and bought some bottled water they’d be fine. But reread what Mike Joy just said, and then get educated about ecology and hydrology. Because these are long term problems being created and not ones with easy fixes especially with climate change bearing down hard and fast.

Another example was the claim that babies would die of blue baby syndrome because of increasing nitrates in groundwater in the Ashburton region.

“If you extrapolate the data from the US, we could expect to see one baby die from blue-baby syndrome in the Ashburton region every 5000 years,” Rolleston added.

He said fear and simplicity were powerful weapons in driving public perception.

Nothing we do is without risk, yet the demand was often that any new technology should be risk-free.

That speech is in part about science being used for activism purposes (apparently that’s ok if you are a farmer, but not ok if you are a water protector). I’m less interested in the cherry picking going on there, although the hypocrisy in the speech around that is worth noting (he accuses activists and then uses the same techniques). I am interested in the acknowledgement that we should be taking risks with the environment so that some people can make more money. Useful to have that honesty I guess, and it’s how it looks to me too.

Neoliberalism, industrial farming, big irrigation, National’s wadable rivers standard, ground water contamination, the sacking of Environment Canterbury, bottled water for profit, excess chlorination of water supplies because our catchments can no longer be trusted, risks to foetuses and babies, people being expected to pay extra for uncontaminated water to protect their young children irrespective of their ability to finance that. Not hard to make the connections.

Once you legitimise the contamination of groundwater you are basically a death cult. Water is life, and there’s only so much of it available despite the views of some that it’s all been wasted by allowing it to flow into the sea. In NZ we think we are immune to catastrophe because we have an abundance of natural resources and not too many people. But there are tipping points and there is cumulative effect. We know from water scientists that we’re already well past the point of fresh water ecologies being ok. Let’s move onto human health and see how far we can push it.

I also think when you run an economy that sees harm to babies as acceptable risks that can be mitigated, then you are approaching society’s end game. But we already knew that about NZ.

165 comments on “Industrial dairying and blue babies”

My 83 year old brother-in-law John Hodgson has been running dialog with ECan for some years. The first part of his article reads thus:

“The following is a simple demonstration to help people understand “Natures processes” for water renewal of the Canterbury Plains.
Put water in the sink to near the top. Then using a vegetable draining colander immerse in the water and watch how quickly the incoming water fills the colander. Next, lift up and observe how fast the water drains. What you are seeing is how nature’s plumbing system works in regards to aquafer water recharge.

This is the system of the Canterbury plains and has worked satisfactorily for man and beast etc., and has had sufficient underground reserves of water along the foot hills of the Alps to maintain a flow for the Aquafers for several years when rainfall and snow is at a low ebb. The position now is that there are hundreds of deep bore wells, that have over 10 or more years drained the natural reserves of water so the sink is empty.

The consequence of this is going to be a massive disaster. The first being no drinkable non-treated water and each year becoming worse.
It is false information that the rivers are dry because of low rainfall. The cause is excessive draw off of the natural water reserves by the dairy cow industry. (Irrigation for agriculture is not a problem, it is seasonal.)”

It has rained and the aquifers have been replenished. Central plains irrigation scheme will result in 100’s of deep bores being decommissioned as stored river water will be used instead. Why do you people cherry pick whats happening and ignore all the positives ???

“Of the many opinions expressed just lately about our water and no matter how correct and genuine they are, no change to the current situation is possible until the deep well owners are required to lift their pumps three metres per year until equilibrium is reached. It has taken less than ten years to get to this very serious state of affairs and will take at least fifteen years to start recovering.”

Yes. While I think some farmers want to do the right things and some are doing the right things, I think they, and us, are being lied to about what is needed. If they think people are angry about this situation now, it’s nothing to what it will be once everyone realises how much bullshit Fed Farmers etc are peddling.

If your water is high in nitrate, contamination is occurring. This means bacteria could also be in the water. Bacteria can increase the likelihood of methaemoglobinaemia and cause other diseases, so don’t forget to test for the bacteria E.coli at the same time.

Sounds like living in Blade Runner.

I also think when you run an economy that sees harm to babies as acceptable risks that can be mitigated, then you are approaching society’s end game.

Thanks weka, this is a tale that must be told, and should be on our radios, news etc more often than the latest USA news. I know! We will say that some malign overseas entity is creeping around NZ poisoning our water, getting at our heartlands. Some North Korean or Russian is doing it, we will be all up in arms. ‘How dare they’,
‘It’s disgusting that our controls are so weak that these people can attack our water systems’.

Instead, virtually nothing is heard because the enemy is within, presenting itself with an air of confidence and comptency and a smiling face, and talk about stability, and blue being a Good Colour!

The tale must be told, or we must keep count of those for whom the church bell tolled, until we can move the government of freebooters who are harder to shift than the stone lying on the grounds of the wrecked Christchurch cathedral. This stone they want to spend millions on to re-erect in the interests of apparent stability and concern about the region by the government. But the stone in their hearts can’t be lifted and true interest in Christianity is not apparent, it is that the church is a monument to the elite of Christchurch. So Matthew 9 can be quoted here: Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, [or pure water] will he give him a stone?

This is from the King James Version of the Bible and it is talking about compassion and giving honestly to others the good things that they need, like pure, healthy water.

I think this is beautiful poetry for guidance.Matthew 7:9 Context
6Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 12Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-7-9/

Whereas I think you and Weka are each some combination of (a) greatly overestimating the probability of blue baby occurring as a result of nitrates in freshwater in NZ and (b) being concerned mainly about consequence, and very little about probability, when evaluating risk.

“greatly overestimating the probability of blue baby occurring as a result of nitrates in freshwater in NZ”

I haven’t said what I think the probability is, so you’re really missing my argument here.

“being concerned mainly about consequence, and very little about probability, when evaluating risk.”

Leaving aside the argument being about water quality in general, something that has low probability but high consequence is still in this case an important issue. You appear to be taking a similar stance to Rolleston. If babies aren’t dying there’s nothing to worry about. We don’t go from where we are now to babies dying in one discrete step.

Yes, and by the time you get one blue baby, you have multiple other risks permanently. It would be like forcing all the babies to go walk in the middle of the road and deciding you’ll move them if you think a car might be coming.

Except it’s not like that, because the chance of blue baby occurring due to nitrate pollution is very low to nil, while the chance of getting run over if you sit in the middle of the road is very high.

Still missing the point. If nitrates get to a level of causing blue babies, then we have a permanent problem that will need mitigating (unless you can figure out how to remove nitrates from the aquifers).

I see you’ve just given another ridiculous example of a meteorite hitting your house. If you think that farmers knowingly putting pollution into the water table is akin to an extremely improbably event like a meteor hitting your house, then I really think there is no point talking to you.

> If nitrates get to a level of causing blue babies, then we have a permanent problem that will need mitigating

Yes, I agree, of course we do. So suppose here I am, a mom in Ashburton and a Green activist. Then YES, I should campaign for urgent changes to the dairy industry to stop harming our aquifers. But NO, I shouldn’t worry about my baby turning blue every time I give them a bottle.

> I see you’ve just given another ridiculous example of a meteorite hitting your house. If you think that farmers knowingly putting pollution into the water table is akin to an extremely improbably event like a meteor hitting your house

It is akin, in the sense that both the risk of blue baby syndrome due to nitrate pollution, and the risk of a meteorite crashing into my living room, are very low probability risks. However, I believe you put very little weight on probability when evaluating risk, so the analogy probably influences you very little.

“But NO, I shouldn’t worry about my baby turning blue every time I give them a bottle.”

Good for you. Notice that I didn’t suggest that the primary issue here is immediate danger to babies. But well argued against something you brought into the conversation.

“However, I believe you put very little weight on probability when evaluating risk, so the analogy probably influences you very little.”

I haven’t addressed probability of babies dying from nitrate poisoning because that’s not what the post was about. I rate the probability of pollution of water in NZ continuing to get worse as very high. So to my mind, I’m evaluating actual risk already, based on both consequence and probability. That in fact is what the post is about.

I think you might be missing the point. If we’re at the point of arguing over to what extent babies are at risk we are very far down the track of stuffed. Freshwater scientists say for ecology health river quality should be set to liveable for freshwater organisms. Not drinkable, not swimmable, not wadeable, but above all those.

That we are even having a debate about blue babies tells us that we’re fucking up in the extreme. What I was trying to point to is that industrial farming is basically saying we won’t kill your babies, but we’ll do what we want for as along as we can get away with it.

Because we’re talking about complex interrelated systems (biological, hydrological, ecological) and not reductionist, mechanistic, input/output theories, by the time you notice damage you’re already into serious trouble. The whole x parts of nitrate per L thing is ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

“This happens all the time. I let my toddler walk, even though he might trip and skin his knee – its an acceptable risk that can be mitigated. Not the end of society as we know it.”

A toddler getting a skinned knee isn’t even close to babies getting nitrate toxicity or e coli infections. Mitigation in my example is expecting parents to buy bottled water and if they don’t or can’t then they’ll have to suck it up because that family is expendable in the face of making money from industrial farming.

“(Not that I’m advocating filling our freshwater with nitrates!)”

Are you sure? Because you just argued against the idea that allowing water pollution to head towards being dangerous for babies is a risk that can be mitigated like other risks to babies’ normal lives.

> If we’re at the point of arguing over to what extent babies are at risk we are very far down the track of stuffed.

Not at all. It depends on the conclusion. If we argue over what extent babies are at risk, and we agree “a very low extent, or nil”, then we are not very far down the track of stuffed.

> What I was trying to point to is that industrial farming is basically saying we won’t kill your babies, but we’ll do what we want for as along as we can get away with it.

Ah, well, I’m not a great advocate for industrial farming as it is currently practiced in Canterbury.

The point of my comment is that families in Canterbury should not spend too much time worrying that their bottle fed kids are about to turn blue, because generally pollutants are well below the limit, which is a very conservative limit anyway.

But I agree it is good to have systems in place to detect when nitrates in drinking water do head up towards the limit.

” If we argue over what extent babies are at risk, and we agree “a very low extent, or nil”, then we are not very far down the track of stuffed.”

No. If there are sufficient nitrates in the water to prompt a discussion about whether babies are at risk, we have already seriously damaged the water. I’ll say again, for ecological health, water needs to be liveable for freshwater organisms. That’s a far higher standard than safe for humans. So unless you want to argue that it’s ok to not sustain ecological health, there really isn’t a debate about how far down the track we are.

“But I agree it is good to have systems in place to detect when nitrates in drinking water do head up towards the limit.”

Right. So you are one of the people who is ok with the water the way it is.

I have set out my thinking, and reiterating it further will add little to the sum of human knowledge.

That’s probably because you thinking is so limited.

As Weka points out, if we’re talking about babies dying due to pollutants in the water even in low numbers then the damage already showing up is already too much as the fish won’t be able to survive in it. And there’s worse to come as more of those pollutants filter through the earth to the aquifers.

That is unfair. Antoine made some points, calmly, respectfully and clearly disagreed with the use of blue baby to possibly “scandalise” people to action when it may not be a substantial risk. Antoine also agreed the water needs attention. Weka clarified what she was meaning by bringing the blue babies up. It was a pretty good discussion imo, as far as online goes when people disagree.

To accuse Antoine of limited thinking is a bit bullyish and is the sort of thing that stops people expressing respectful counter views here.

Only because you’ve repeatedly ignored the fact that by the time water gets so bad we’re thinking about babies, it’s already seriously polluted. But sure, let yourself get distracted by what you think the post is about instead of addressing the actual issues raised.

I’ve read your comments before Antoine and regularly you don’t seem to get the point that is being made, but sort of slip alongside the problem to minimise it. And you are doing that here. Trying to compare contamination of food or water, very hard to avoid and basic to life, and an unacceptable thing, to an injury that can occur to your toddler which is unfortunate but must be accepted as occasionally occurring as we go about the world.

Harm to babies in their food does not compare with a toddler falling over and skinning a knee. We all knock and trip and have to cope with that. Accepting that we have poisoned water and waving that away as no problem doesn’t compare.

Then having disagreed with our concerns, you put a disclaimer in that you are concerned. Is someone paying you to be disruptive of our discussions with irrelevant disagreements, or do you have time to spare and consider we need to be more ‘she’ll be right’ about falling standards in our country.

You’ve talent to spare Antoine if you also write to Kiwiblog. I wonder how you can turn it to your advantage? Perhaps National is looking for literate people with the right attitude like yours. Why not give them a try, you seem to have the sort of talent they would like for their PR team.

Our over use of road transport instead of rail is another savage form of land based “road runoff pollution” as I have written many blogs on this form of land based pollution that oddly gets ignored, but since stock trucks move the sheep/cattle around our country their urine and other deposits wind up on our roads because many trucks either have no on board tanks or are overfilled because very few discharge stations are provided along the roads we get that animal pollution runnoff from our roads going back into our streams/rivers/lakes/ water aqifers/ and finally our drinking water.

The top expert Mike Joy, in our conversations with him is very aware of this form of land transpoort pollution that must aso be inclided in the mix now.

Interesting to read that bwaghorn. The people seem to have some good reasons for being against its chosen site.

Perhaps in that case in a new approach to decision making, the objectors should be asked to work with the authority proposing the site, and together look for other possible, more suitable sites.

I think that there needs to be a process where there is collaboration between dissenters and proposers when there is an obvious need for something so important as this. If one site is no good, where then, and the dissenters work on finding suitable sites for consideration.

the nearest house would be over looking a fert distribution site, a boozer called the ‘Hangi Hole ‘ (the local cossie club),a sprawling building supplies depot, state hw 4 and the intersection to turangi, and the main trunk line , the site would have been at least 100 mtrs further away than any or all of them.

Same in HB & Gisborne, we have very few discharge stations so it is a large problem for all travellers on Hyway 2 from Hastings to Gisborne because our cars all get the spray of effluent from the stock truck in front of us all the time.

We had the rail until National stole the rail maintenence funds for Auckland commuter rail and a rainstorm slip caused the rail line to become washed out along a 1km section in March 24th 2012, but have never re-openned it since so National must go!!!!

Red areas are where nitrate concentrations in groundwater are above the MAV most or all of the time and therefore alternative water sources should be used for drinking.
Yellow areas are where it is not known if a sample collected from a well will have nitrate concentrations exceeding the MAV and testing is recommended.

Blue lips and ‘starved’ physical extremities are all well and good, but what about brain damage? From the skelp through the info I could see, there’s no mention of brain damage …. and the whole “lead in water and air” bullshit springs to mind. That was allowed to continue for decades in spite of the dangers of lead being well known.

The financial pain of a reduction in stocking rate would be balanced by an increase in the quality of life for the farmer and an increase in the quality of environmental health on farm and beyond – surely that’s compensation enough?

i doubt going broke increase s ones quality of life , please keep in mind that they are not all big greedy mongrals , they are people raised in a system that has governments and banks making this dairy growth explosion happen

Smaller farmers have been encouraged to amalgamate like Crafur. Others have sold out to bigger entities to get to a good size to industrially farm. It was all presented as being good business and as farmers have never listened to any advice from townies and universities anyway, how would they know what to look out for. Milk rush is on!

So they got led by the hand by the unprincipled governments and National is meant to be for farmers, but it seems more for the bigger ones. And they are pretty mean at delivering social welfare for ordinary farmers when times are tough. And they don’t support the farmers living on site as much as they should with good policing, good transport to schools, good medical help etc. Fair weather friends are National and Labour haven’t been too friendly either.

We’re talking reducing stock numbers, bwaghorn, not shooting the national herd (as Farrar would pitch it) I know farmers who have reduced their stock numbers and profited in the ways I’ve described, so it’s not theoretical. I too point a finger at the banks (rapacious) and the Government (orcs).

The average productive lifetime of the dairy cow in intensive milk production is decreasing around the world, with averages like 2.4 lactations in the US and Denmark. This shorter lifespan is mainly a result of what has generally been considered as sound economic decisions on profitability. However, much of the decrease in dairy cow longevity is mainly the result of involuntary culling due to poor health or fertility problems. This can lead not only to lower profitability, but also to concerns from consumers, who are becoming increasingly aware of animal welfare issues.

So, Psycho Milt, the World Health Organization says glyphosate is probably carcinogenic while our NZ agency says it probably isn’t and as a result here in NZ we continue to use it for such vital purposes as keeping children’s playgrounds clear of weeds and knocking down the tops of potato plants in order to make their harvesting easier. And all they while, you say, fools!
Wowsers!

Yes, but I’d probably want there to be conditions on that. e.g. more govt assistance for farmers converting to organic or a regenag model. Less assistance for farmers who are tinkering around the edges.

More Government assistance? I’d prefer less industry knee-capping of organic producers. And “regenag”? Worst choice of title ever – the “nag” bit gets me every time! Regenerative agriculture is an oxymoron; there is no (significant) regeneration from agriculture; horticulture, delicately applied, might do the trick, but agriculture? Therein lies our destruction.

weka. I believe Salatin’s message is an inadvertent Trojan horse and threat to the planet’s well being 🙂 He’s right, within the “agricultural story” but wrong in the wider tale. Building soil from the running of hoofed ruminants? Nah; they’re heavy beasts and ill-suited to New Zealand conditions. Aurochs aren’t beasts of the South Pacific and for good reason. Nor are chickens, for that matter. We have an opportunity to craft appropriate systems and technologies down-under, wonderful opportunities which earlier colonizers can advise us on, but those don’t involve our bovine/ovine friends at all, imo.
Let’s wrassle!

“He’s right, within the “agricultural story” but wrong in the wider tale.”

I agree, and even within regenag there are problems with what he is doing. But I do think regenerative applies and that it’s a pathway that farmers (and food eaters) can head down until they understand the next thing. Trying to get mainstream farming to look too far ahead will just scare them off. We should still be talking about the wider tale too though (*drops post hint*).

Salatin isn’t farming in NZ 😉 I think there’s a clear case in places that have had plains/herd ecosystems to be mimicking them. In terms of NZ, well I’m not sure how close to our original soil structure and conditions we are now. Thoughts on that?

More of a concern for me than should we have heavy, hoofed animals, is should we be running export farming at all. If we cut back cows and sheep to what was needed to feed ourselves, I think we could make it work on the land.

Fibre and leather too.

We could eat weka instead of chooks 😈 I am kind of partial to hens, but would be interested in alternative systems so long as it doesn’t mean being vegan or vegetarian (eating less meat and dairy is fine).

Harakeke. It’s not pandanas ( subtle allusion) but it’s what we’ve got, in spades!
Hemp. Hemp and harakeke. I weep for the lost wetlands of ou matou moutere – imagine if we’d followed the mahi nga kai model and enhanced the tuna harvest! What an opportunity, lost! Aue te mamae!
We have new knowledge and access to new plants. Let’s look at what was here, honed by millennia of climatic and ecological process and restore what we can, in order to feed and clothe ourselves. Leather? Please! – weka skin, perhaps, but plants rule; a comfy bamboo-fibre sock inside of a hemp sandal is all we need and all we can afford.

I think birds ruled NZ*. And if we were to attempt restoration, to the extent we can, then we would have almost unimaginably more bird numbers than we do now. They say you could hear the bird song from sea before you could see land. I’m not averse to eating bird meat. I won’t go back to being vegetarian.

Let’s not forget the moa. That’s a heavy footed animal.

Āe to ngā tuna, when we restore our waterways so the tuna are as abundant as ngā namunamu.

“a comfy bamboo-fibre sock inside of a hemp sandal”

Doesn’t sound too appropriate to lots of NZ terrain tbh. I haven’t seen a hemp sandal, but it’s hard to imagine it replacing leather for durability or functionality.

Lordy! What a great reply, weka! Ka pai ki ahau i tena!
Merino! PETA would have your guts for garters 🙂
Birds were players here, foreshore, but no longer; they’re bit-players, sadly. Plants rule now, and ryegrass is King. Let’s change that! We can and must! Hemp and bamboo – I don’t understand your reluctance – both love it here, are manageable and are enormously productive. Remember, we humans arrived here late in the piece and as the result of conscious decision-making; we can do the same with any organism but we must think well before we commit to hoof, horn, rhizome or seed. Moa, btw, we gently-stepping avians, barely scuffing the forest-floor, as elephants are 🙂
Have you worn bamboo? Soft as. Brushed your teeth with a bamboo-handled toothbrush? Lovely.
Gotta go now, my chariot awaits.

Robert \Wasn’t there about a week ago a report of some millions to be spent on research of past Maori knowledge. It resulted in some criticism of course, usual suspects, but sounded interesting to me. And would seem to fit into the line you say we should be taking as to how to utilise our local stuff well and sustainably.

I’m all in favour of hemp and bamboo (with a special affection for harakeke). I don’t see why they should obviate the need for sheep and cows for locals. Or animals in general. Most systems have animals in them, is there a problem designing for that?

Can bamboo or hemp be knitted in a woolly jumper? Still not convinced the thermal value is close.

Am also not quite sure if you are suggesting we stop eating animals (I place animal welfare a high priority, but PETA have lost the plot).

the argument is that the kinds of hoofs they have is damaging to NZ soils (can’t remember the technical argument exactly). Because those animals and the soils didn’t co-evolve, it’s a problem trying to regenerate and manage those soils sustainably if you have that kind of stock. I’m in two minds about it, I tend to think that numbers of stock is a bigger issue as is the mechanistic philosophies underpinning conventional farming.

i took over a place 3 1/2 years ago ( i left in july) covered in weeds pugged , hardly growing grass , i had to use a thistle spray to begin with but with good management of stock and pasture i turned the place into a grass machine turning out far better stock health and size wise, and in the last season the boss didn’t apply urea .
the thistle burden was minimal by the time i left (helped in part by having a wet summer, weeds hate grass cover)

In the Salatin thing I will write, there’s a bit in a video about settler reports in the US of being able to tie the grass in a knot over the backs of the horses. That’s how healthy that plains/herd ecosystem was. Grass can be a beautiful thing. I hope we don’t start regarding it with the same disrespect as we do Pinus spp. Grass has grassness, and the fact that we don’t know how to support that isn’t grass’ fault.

Besides, bamboo is a grass. And grains.

“In a land where birds, lizards and frogs were royalty, why would you release horned beasts?”

Given they’re already here, why not work with them? Are you applying the same argument to other species that couldn’t get here under their own steam? Rats, mice, stoats. Hedgehogs. Cats, Dogs.

rotational grazing , keeping cattle off the softer country when wet . not over grazing , pretty simple stuff that done well makes a huge diff to soil erosion the amount of spray needed to control weed s and the use of urea to plug feed gaps

” Rats, mice, stoats, hedgehogs, cats…” you know we are trying to exterminate those, right??
Sheep. From the air, a hillside covered in them looks lice-infested. Cows? Talk to Mike Joy.
Sure, keep a cow, or a goat, but concrete and steel rotational robotic milking sheds? He aha ena? He kino te mahi na.
Co-evolving is passé; let’s get real. Plants will restore degraded ecosystems fast . Employ new organisms thoughtfully. Accept that the cat’s out of the bag. Ride the wave, encourage volunteers, wave goodbye to the reliant and the susceptible, the weak and the trifling. Grasp the nettle 🙂

You are comparing regenerative plantings with industrial farming? That’s an odd thing to do.

I consider industrial export farming within a growth economy to be inherently unsustainable. When I’m talking about why get rid of cows, I’m not talking about keeping industrial dairying or conventional sheep farming, I’m talking about sustainable design.

Regenag can certainly do with some improvements (I find it pretty blokey, needs more mothers involved), but if we want animals (I think most people do, and along with the wonders of plants I think I can still make a case for why merino and milk should be included) then there’s no good reason to not include them in design processes.

“you know we are trying to exterminate those, right??”

Who’s this ‘we’?

“Plants will restore degraded ecosystems fast”

Yes, but will they supply humans with what they need? I sense some complex sorting of values here around species. Sometimes it’s go with what evolved here, sometimes it’s go with what’s already here, but it’s not clear yet to me where you are differentiating (unless it is to favour plants over animals for reasons yet to be determined, but that wouldn’t explain the tolerance for rats and the intolerance for sheep).

no just interested to see if you walk the talk, i’m not saying fully organic is unreachable but it would take a 100 years to unwind from it due to having breed the stock to need it and having to wait for the old school thoughts to die out. it would take massive government intervention i believe.

i think more science and training on best practice and farming in a lower input way is more realistic

100 years to modernise! Cripes climate change isn’t giving us the opportunity. Plus some lurch in world trade will stuff us up. People have been changing to organic in increasing numbers, they know how to do it. And dinosaurs died out a millenia ago, or so.

People convert farms to organics over five years. Where’s the 100 years thing coming from?

I agree the old school thoughts slow things down, but it’s like that with anything and if we had decent leadership on it as well as commitment from farm advisors and other parts of the sector I think that would change faster.

But organic is done scientifically bwaghorn. It’s had tests and methods and growth factors and information about the different effects of different plants for growth and health of animals. That is what I understand.
Someone with more info could back this up with facts which would be better than just my ideas.

John’s concluding paragraph:
“The cause of this serious situation is simply the present Government, the Overseas Investment Office and the Banks that urged farmers to go into a very large debt repayment system with the promise of an abundant water supply. The Government used inadequate water science to start with and is failing to recognise that many farming units are going to fail because of debt repayment. It will be the Government’s responsibility to accept the debt of failed farms and pay the moneylenders.
It is also ironic the Government is giving millions of dollars towards the rebuild of Christchurch city, but ignores the oncoming disaster that has already started by the destruction of our once famous artesian waters.”

Gee! Wow! Thanks Weka. We didn’t know his work could be so accessed.
John couldn’t get the Press to print that so he published it in the Public Notices at his own huge expense. John is self taught and has incredible attention to detail and has had many one on one meetings challenging ECan, with special attention to temperatures rising as water flows fall affecting fish and other river life. He has kept the temperatures twice daily of 6 Canterbury Rivers especially in the Rakaia and Waimak. Also the river flows of same. When temperatures rise the ability to keep oxygen in the water falls. Over irrigation means lower flows, higher temperatures, death to river life.
John was sad that his research while annoying to ECan did not get the circulation it deserved.

Just confirmed with John by phone, that he would welcome publication in The Standard as a Guest post. He does have full rights because it was published by him at his expense in the Public Notices of the Press. Therefore it is open to the public. He gave me a copy and said I/we could edit it in any way I/we liked.

” [ECan’s] own data still shows that nitrates leaching is continuing to climb. It will take a long time to turn around the increasing levels of nitrates in our ground water and surface water.

There was a “strange and difficult problem” that the regional council had pledged to both increase irrigation and reduce nitrates.

The balance was leaning towards irrigation rather than protecting drinking water,

There needs to come a point as a community where we have to make a choice between increasing irrigation and driving up intensification or whether we want to truly commit to reducing nitrates and other contaminants in our ground and surface water.”

Over five years, the irrigated area in Canterbury increased from 425,000 hectares to 507,000ha.

“The amount of nitrogen leached from soil due to dairy cattle has risen by nearly 30 million kilograms since 1990.

Dairy cattle contributed 50 million kilograms of nitrogen leachate in soil in 2012, according to the Ministry for the Environment.
(embolding mine)

According to Statistics New Zealand, the number of dairy cattle increased 70 per cent between 1994 and 2015, from 3.84 million to 6.49 million.”
Not sure why you linked to this, bwaghorn – does it help your argument somehow?

you’re proving how little you understand me , i put it there because it fits the post , i have no argument that the massive increase of dairying and intensification in general is a problem . it’s how you fix it that matters and having the far green hate machine spewing static helps no more than the wadable is good enough morons on the rich side.

Yeah i think that sometimes we should be able to put something up that takes the eye and is interesting without having to raise an argument about it or justify it etc. Sometimes something just is, and we shouldn’t be harrassed about it.

This has been accompanied by more than 1.426 million tons of P-based fertilizers and 335 000 tons of N-based fertilizers annually (1990–2012 mean; StatsNZ, 2015).

Of the nutrients consumed by lactating dairy cows, approximately 66 % of P and 79 % of N are returned to the landscape in the form of urine and feces. This results in about 940 000 tons of P-based and 260 000 tons of N-based diffuse pollution

… Even if best management practices
are adopted to reduce nutrient export to rivers, there is already a half-century legacy of nutrients distributed across the NZ landscape that will continue to leak to the rivers,(Larned et al., 2016).
Indeed, the full impact of agricultural intensification on river water quality will not be fully appreciated for another several decades (Howard-Williams et al., 2010; Vant and Smith, 2004)”

How much nitrate is leached from plants that fix nitrogen on crown land in NZ Robert? All that gorse,broom,trefoil,clovers etc must have an effect . I think stats figures on cow numbers are out of date. The dairy price collapse coupled with the beef price boom has resulted in a lot of hamburgers.

Nitrate is fixed by leguminous plants, Ian, why do you say “leached”?
Where other plants are waiting, breath bated, for that nitrogen, it’s a boon to the system. Only the foolish would waste such a resource, freely provided by our leguminous brothers and sisters. Then, there are the “land managers” that spray, burn, bulldoze and generally mash those utility plants, wasting natural capital like it was confetti at a wedding. Crown land could thrive under enlightened management., especially where there are legumes, volunteering their time.

Seems to me you are making a specious argument that hides the fact that inorganic nitrogen (from fertiliser) is different than biological nitrogen from legumes etc.

The reductionist mind likes to treat like things the same but fails to take into account complex systems. In this case, to keep it simple, inorganic nitrogen harms soil, biological nitrogen is part of a complex system that builds and maintains soil health (especially microbial but also structure), that all fertility is based upon. To compare nitrate numbers in that context is a tool of farming that harms, or perhaps the tool of someone that wants to justify pollution.

Trying to stop excess nitrogen from intentional overstocking and overuse of artificial fertilisers getting into water ways is ambulance at the bottom of the cliff stuff. I have no idea if you read the post, but that was the point of it, to demonstrate that many industrial farmers want to pollute to the extent they can get away with, and at the moment they’re getting away with a lot. Hence the ‘but we’re doing good things too’ line doesn’t work. Doing good things while you pollute won’t make the pollution go away, because you still want to pollute as much as you can manage.

For those reading along, there’s a good read here on the interrelatedness of soil, nitrogen, carbon, and the actions of humans here,

Rolleston is a powerful player in the Agribusiness world. He has extensive financial interests in many agricultural science companies, including genetics, which he protects via his many publicly-appointed offices. I think this man deserves close scrutiny.

Any of you guys heard of the managed aquifer recharge trials underway South of Ashburton ? I understand The Makauri Aquifer under the poverty bay flats is also been looked at in relation to aquifer recharge from the Waipoa river.
It is fascinating science and MAR has the potential to mitigate nitrate loss from agricultural activity on lighter irrigated soils in NZ.
It also has the potential to lift static water levels when it doesn’t rain enough like the last 3 years up untill the last autumn.
Bob Bower is the hydrologist in charge .

“All New Zealanders, town and country, from politicians to farmers needed to take collective responsibility to have a “land and water ethic” to restore waterways. Many farmers were responsible and practised a sense of stewardship but a significant number failed to do so.”

Most soils this year will be heavily pugged by heavy hoof action (cows).

I live on a small farm up in the gisborne hills and next door neighour I allowed his dairy cows into a 15 acre paddock as we were not putting our sheep in there this winter and in two short weeks the whole paddock was heavily pugged because of the heavy rainfall this season.

Never happens with sheep.

Guess it is the same on the wetter regions of the whole country, and we hear the rainfall this year is a record here, as we exceeeded our annual rainfall over a month ago already.

The future for intensive farming is uncertain now with annual rainfall increases occurring.

As a retired dairy farmer who finds any herd of cows over 200 as abhorrent for bovine welfare, as herds have within them complex relationship systems within them, in short a hierarchy structure totally unsuitable for huge groupings; this said I still want to see these blue lipped babies before blaming an industry so necessary to this country, albeit done very differently!

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Young people in Waikato will be the first to have free access to period products in schools in another step to support children and young people in poverty,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. During term 3, the Ministry of Education will begin providing free period products to schools following the ...

The Minister of Police Stuart Nash has issued the following statement in response to charges filed against three Police officers this morning in the New Plymouth District Court. “Any incident involving a loss of life in Police custody is taken very seriously. The charges today reflect the gravity of the ...

$196 million for Crown Research Institutes $150 million for R&D loan scheme $33 million for Māori research and development opportunities $12 million for the Nationally Significant Collections and Databases $10 million to help maintain in-house capability at Callaghan Innovation New Zealand’s entrepreneurs, innovators and crown researchers will benefit from a ...

Further temporary changes to NCEA and University Entrance (UE) will support senior secondary school students whose teaching and learning have been disrupted by COVID-19. “The wellbeing of students and teachers is a priority. As we are all aware, COVID-19 has created massive disruption to the school system, and the Government ...

Minister for Racing Winston Peters today announced that the terms for the directors of the Racing Industry Transition Agency (RITA) have been extended to 30 June 2021. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the transition period has been extended to ensure that the Racing Industry Bill can complete its progress through ...

The deadline for landlords to include detailed information in their tenancy agreements about how their property meets the Healthy Homes Standards, so tenants can see the home they are renting is compliant, has been extended from 1 July 2020 to 1 December 2020. The Healthy Homes Standards became law on 1 July 2019. The Standards are ...

Justice Minister Andrew Little today announced details of further appointments to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. “I am pleased to announce Paula Rose QSO OStJ as Deputy Chief Commissioner for a term of five years commencing on 15 June 2020,” said Andrew Little. “I am also pleased to announce the ...

The Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF) will pay costs of learners of all ages to undertake vocational education and training The fund will target support for areas of study and training that will give learners better employment prospects as New Zealand recovers from COVID-19 Apprentices working in all industries ...

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will finally start to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas pollution as it was originally intended to, because of changes announced today by the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw. The changes include a limit on the total emissions allowed within the ETS, rules to ensure ...

Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List provides an abundance of examples that Pacific people’s leadership capability is unquestionable in Aotearoa. “The work and the individuals we acknowledge this year highlights the kind of visionary examples and dedicated community leadership that we need ...

The Government is backing a new $27 million project aimed at boosting sustainable horticulture production and New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery efforts, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Our horticulture sector has long been one of New Zealand’s export star performers, contributing around $6 billion a year to our economy. During and ...

The Queen’s Birthday 2020 Honours List once again highlights the dedication by many to looking after our native plants and wildlife, including incredible work to restore the populations of critically endangered birds says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. Anne Richardson of Hororata has been made an Officer of the New ...

The Government will invest $10 million from the One Billion Trees Fund for large-scale planting to provide jobs in communities and improve the environment, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Forestry Minister Shane Jones have announced. New, more flexible funding criteria for applications will help up to 10 catchment groups plant ...

Organisations that support women are invited to apply to a new $1,000,000 fund as part of the Government’s COVID-19 response. “We know women, and organisations that support women, have been affected by COVID-19. This new money will ensure funding for groups that support women and women’s rights,” said Minister for ...

Healthier waterways are front and centre in a new project involving more than 300 King Country sheep, beef and dairy farmers. The Government is investing $844,000 in King Country River Care, a group that helps farmers to lift freshwater quality and farming practice, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “Yesterday ...

A major funding package for libraries will allow them to play a far greater role in supporting their communities and people seeking jobs as part of the economic recovery from COVID-19. “Budget 2020 contains over $60 million of funding to protect library services and to protect jobs,” says Internal Affairs ...

A jobseekers programme for the creative sector and four new funds have been set up by the Government to help our arts and music industry recover from the blow of COVID-19. Thousands of jobs will be supported through today’s $175 million package in a crucial economic boost to support the ...

Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has welcomed the First Reading of a Bill that will make legislative changes to further improve the veterans’ support system. The Veterans’ Support Amendment Bill No 2, which will amend the Veterans’ Support Act 2014, passed First Reading today. The bill addresses a number of ...

Views sought on Order in Council to help fast track the reinstatement of the Christ Church Cathedral The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Hon Poto Williams, will be seeking public written comment, following Cabinet approving the drafting of an Order in Council aimed at fast-tracking the reinstatement of the ...

The law setting out New Zealanders’ basic civil and human rights is today one step towards being strengthened following the first reading of a Bill that requires Parliament to take action if a court says a statute undermines those rights. At present, a senior court can issue a ‘declaration of ...

Thousands of artists and creatives at hundreds of cultural and heritage organisations have been given much-needed support to recover from the impact of COVID-19, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern announced today. “The cultural sector was amongst the worst hit by the global pandemic,” Jacinda ...

Key New Zealand assets will be better protected from being sold to overseas owners in a way contrary to the national interest, with the passage of the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Bill. The Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament today, also cuts unnecessary red tape to help attract ...

Setting higher health standards at swimming spots Requiring urban waterways to be cleaned up and new protections for urban streams Putting controls on higher-risk farm practices such as winter grazing and feed lots Setting stricter controls on nitrogen pollution and new bottom lines on other measures of waterway health Ensuring ...

The Government is on the verge of reaching its target of state sector boards and committees made up of at least 50 percent women, says Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter and Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa. For the first time, the Government stocktake measures the number of Māori, ...

ANALYSIS:By Denis Muller of theUniversity of Melbourne When a newspaper with the authority of The New York Times chooses to publish a party-political essay calculated to further inflame the violence wracking cities across America, serious questions arise. On June 3 the Times published in its opinion section an ...

For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Noble, Education Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Three quarters of a million Australian children are likely to be experiencing employment stress in the family as a result of COVID-19. This is on top of around 615,000 children whose families were ...

Spice up the classic banana muffin with a subtle touch of star anise.These muffins came about one rainy Saturday when the cupboards were bare and there was nothing much left in the fruit bowl aside from some very sad-looking bananas. Fortunately we know sad bananas result in the best kind ...

For years, Work and Income has been telling New Zealanders they couldn’t get the benefit until their redundancy payments ran out. Turns out, it was wrong.What’s all this then?Work and Income has long told New Zealanders receiving redundancy payments that they weren’t eligible for the benefit until their redundancy money ...

New Zealand writer Anna Rankin reports from Los Angeles. Last Friday afternoon, I went downtown to a protest outside the enormous Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on 1st Street. The LAPD had set up cordons, placing orange cones across streets to block traffic. Arms crossed, they stood with a wide ...

Until the sudden closure of Bauer Media in April, Simon Farrell-Green was the editor of HOME, New Zealand’s oldest architecture magazine. Here he explains what comes next.Being the editor of a major architecture magazine was the best job I ever had. I got it in 2016, after a career spent ...

A global success story or an overly generous, unsustainable scheme that is doing lasting damage to our fish stocks? Ethan Neville looks at the ongoing debate over New Zealand’s fishing quota management system. The management of our fisheries is a touchy topic – and why wouldn’t it be? New Zealanders ...

By RNZ News Thousands of people were protesting across Australia today to oppose the deaths of Indigenous people in police custody. It comes as Black Lives Matter protests are held around the world after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in the US ...

For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. ...

One press statement from the Beehive yesterday sounded more like advertising – or a barker’s pitch – than a Government announcement. Another advised of two diplomatic appointment, one of them – has the woman who landed the post done something wrong? – to protest-troubled and politically volatile Hong Kong. And ...

It’s not often that someone graduates from university one year and becomes a senior economist commentating on national media the next. George Driver investigates the meteoric rise of the high-flying Brad Olsen.Google “senior economist Brad Olsen” and you’ll find him quoted in no fewer than 167 articles in the past ...

As public sentiment turned against Uber Eats, a new local operation emerged promising a more ethical alternative to help New Zealand’s struggling hospitality industry. But now Eat Local NZ has suspended trading after falling out with its Australian partner Mr Yum. So what happened?A dispute between local hospitality platform Eat ...

By Budi Sutrisno in Jakarta As the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died while being arrested in the United States, sparks a global outcry, Indonesian rights advocates and young people have stepped forward to remind fellow citizens that racism has long been an issue at home as ...

Edward Cullen became a vampire to survive the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Now a new Twilight novel looms and Laura Surynt, a New Zealander living in the UK, wants to live forever too. As I lay in bed this morning watching Instagram stories, Tayi Tibble told my reluctant little Capricorn ...

Over the lockdown period, thousands of people joined a Facebook group dedicated to remembering the nightlife of inner-city Auckland. Its creator Simon Grigg explains why it touched a chord in lockdown.Within a few days of The Lost Nightlife of Inner-city Auckland Facebook page accidentally going live on May 12, we ...

Throughout Anglo colonial states there is a constant habit of defining people who aren’t white as a problem, writes Aaron Smale in this personal essay. It was a balmy summer evening in the capital and cops were standing over a young brown man. I was walking down Courtenay Place on ...

"The countdown clock ticks 2, then 1, then the prime minister raises her drink": dystopia, by Ōtautahi writer Laura Borrowdale. You stand in the centre of the room, and around you, the guests seem to swirl and blend into one. There’s a mouth, gaping and red, filled with laughter. A ...

Martin Luther King Jr said in 1963: “America has given the Black people a bad cheque, a cheque which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’." Six generations of egregious police violence later, the sentiment out of which those bad cheques were born could be shifting. In the wake of egregious police violence, ...

WATCH: In a candid interview on Sky Sport, Dame Susan Devoy talks on her concern for rising sports stars, the state of NZ squash, and the spectre of racism. Dame Susan Devoy is proudly still “a little terrier who fights for the underdog”. “I have been doing it all my life and ...

Of the huge funding boost coming for early childhood education, Playcentre has been left with just the crumbs, writes Kate Barber. Amidst all the celebration of the $430m funding boost for early childhood education (ECE) announced in this year’s budget, little attention was paid to the plight of Playcentre. The ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vikrant Minhas, PhD candidate, University of Adelaide Although bacteria are single-celled and microscopically small, they still need energy to survive, just like us. One of the most efficient ways of acquiring energy for bacteria is through sweet, soluble carbohydrates: sugars. In fact, ...

PACIFIC PANDEMIC DIARY:By David Robie Three cartoonists had especially poignant takes on the tragic and toxic political aftermath of martyr George Floyd’s brutal killing under the knee of a white American policeman in Minneapolis last week. The Boston Globe’s Christopher Weyant featured a split frame contrasting a red-capped “Make ...

Are central bankers jealous that epidemiologists are the rock stars of the current crisis?There is talk that both the British and New Zealand central banks might institute negative interest rates as part of the policy response to the Covid shock. While Sweden’s central bank ended its five year experiment ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monika Sarder, Senior Strategic Analyst, Monash University Algorithmic decision-making has enormous potential to do good. From identifying priority areas for first response after an earthquake hits, to identifying those at risk of COVID-19 within minutes, their application has proven hugely beneficial. But ...

LISTEN: This week's Extra Time podcast discusses racism in sport and the role of athletes and organisations in making a stand for good. Former Silver Fern and Black Fern Louisa Wall believes today's sports stars must have a social conscience and stand up against discrimination and divisiveness. Sport and politics, once ...

Auckland writer Caroline Barron has a terrific book out today called Ripiro Beach: A Memoir of Life After Near Death. Here, she writes about the memoirs that have been a balm, a lesson, or both. Throughout my life, I’ve sought solace between the covers of books, particularly memoirs. There, I’ve learnt ...

An exclusive interview with Steve McSteverson about his traumatic and tragic ordeal this week.Many New Zealanders are struggling with the news that a children’s book not commissioned or authorised by Jacinda Ardern was advertised in a newsletter for children’s books. This horrific attack on New Zealanders whose ears are permanently ...

Air New Zealand staff are dismayed and angered at the company’s announcement to cut a further $150 million from their wage bill. On Friday, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Greg Foran, made the announcement to employees, who are still ...

The Herald reported this morning that MediaWorks was on the verge of selling its TV assets to US TV giant Discovery – but an internal email and senior source suggest the story may have been premature.A senior MediaWorks source has emphatically denied a report in the NZ Herald that a ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University Life in lockdown has been tough on many relationships. But negotiating the transition back to “normal” as restrictions continue to lift could also be a challenge for couples. So what ...

A slight bounce in the economy is brightening the outlook as the country heads into the winter months, Radio NZ reports. Retail spending is up and NZ shares rose on Thursday for a third day running. Key indicators have led some economists to point to a faster recovery than expected. ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide HomeBuilder is a good idea gone bad. It is possibly the most complex and least equitable program the government could have devised to deliver construction jobs. It gives $25,000 to people who already ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Keller, Professor of Cognitive Science, Western Sydney University The coronavirus pandemic has silenced the world’s concert halls and opera theatres. Organisations specialising in live performance face an existential crisis under current restrictions on social gatherings, with up to 75% of people ...

Finance Minister Grant Robertson, wearing his Sport and Recreation ministerial hat, can show he can be a big spender and draw voters’ attention to his largess each time he dispenses money from the funds under his control – or the control of an agency within his ministerial bailiwick. Yesterday he ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan University Scott Morrison wants to overhaul the skills workforce to ensure a better post-COVID-19 recovery. But there may not be enough people with the necessary skills to do so. And travel restrictions, which ...

As we transition out of a Covid-focused world and prepare for what comes next, New Zealand’s ICT industry is gearing towards growth.From app development helping track the Covid-19 virus to website engineering keeping businesses in touch and online, ICT knowledge has been crucial to keeping New Zealand working over the ...

Analysis: As New Zealand eases restrictions, it no longer has international precedent to look towards and must decide on its own how to reopen the economy while reducing the risk of a second wave of infections, Marc Daalder reports While most of the country eagerly awaits a likely move to ...

Ten days is too long. That from insurance claimant advocate, Ali Jones. EQC has today made contact with homeowners via email after accidentally releasing confidential details of 8000 insurance claims on May 26. Jones says although she has not received ...

The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Penguin Classics, $24)Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. The other day, ...

Simon Day discovers how the voluntary carbon market allows both individuals and companies to offset their emissions at the same time as investing in native forest regeneration.When Celia Wade-Brown sold her first batch of carbon credits earned from the native forest on her Wairarapa farm, she had two customers: Z ...

Simon Day discovers how the voluntary carbon market allows both individuals and companies to offset their emissions at the same time as investing in native forest regeneration.When Celia Wade-Brown sold her first batch of carbon credits earned from the native forest on her Wairarapa farm, she had two customers: Z ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin. The conversation around the 2020 covid19 pandemic has been widely framed as ‘health versus the economy’. It has been quite political, with people leaning to the left emphasising ‘health’, and people leaning to the right emphasising ‘the economy’. A couple of weeks ago ...

Sam Brooks pays tribute to Alex Rider, and the new TV series that (finally) captures the spirit of the books.“What if James Bond was a teenager?”The concept for Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series is so simple but so brilliant. There’s a reason why the franchise has managed to sustain 12 ...

Analysis - The PM resists pressure to move immediately to level 1, Winston Peters' tactics play into the hands of the Opposition and the government at last works out a commercial rent solution, writes Peter Wilson. ...

Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By COHAFrom Washington DC Federal charges against the four protectors of the Venezuelan Embassy, who defended the building in Washington DC against violent opposition crowds for several weeks between April 10 and May 16 of 2019, were completely dropped in a case that ...

Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By COHA Editorial TeamFrom Washington DC The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) joins the Black Alliance for Peace[1] and other pro-democracy organizations throughout the world in calling for the United Nations to address the systemic violations of human rights by the police and ...

Being shot by police had a profound, transformational effect on Rob Mokaraka’s life in more ways than you’d expect. A new documentary, airing on Māori TV at 7.30pm on Sunday, explores the work he’s done to heal his own mind and to ensure nobody has to go through the same ...

Human rights watchdog TAPOL has condemned the demand by Indonesian prosecutors seeking 17 and five years imprisonment for West Papuan activists Buchtar Tabuni and Irwanus Uropmabin. On June 2, the Jayapura District Prosecutor’s Office issued 33 pages containing charges against the defendant Irwanus Uropmabin. In the document, the Public Prosecutor ...

The arrival of Dan Carter is far from the first time the ever-struggling Auckland team has hoped to turn around its fortunes with a star signing, writes Jamie Wall.New Zealand rugby Twitter is a generally desolate place, especially lately given that there’s been nothing to talk about ever since the ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity US President Donald Trump delivered an address this week in which he threatened military action on the nation. Then he walked to the nearby St John’s Episcopal Church ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University Why do we burp? We sometimes also burp before meals, why does this happen? — Ahaana, age 7 That is a really interesting question, Ahaana! There ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland After years of litigation, Australia’s highest court will today make a major decision on the fate of the controversial proposed expansion to the New Acland Coal mine in Queensland. ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Senior Lecturer, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Robodebt isn’t the only measure the government should consider withdrawing. Late last Friday, after a long press conference from the prime minister which avoided any mention of the topic, the ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University What keeps democracies together? As America burns, Brazilians die and Europe braces for another wave of the coronavirus, the question assumes an alarming immediacy. If the answer is complicated in one way, it is ...